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Thursday, September 14, 2006

Screams, torture commence toute-de-suite as Americans turn Iraqi prison over to Iraqis. In a cynical piece designed to criticize Americans a London newspaper highlights the tactic that will be used when the U.S. finally does pull out of Iraq: Blame America for staying out of Iraq, blame America for invading Iraq, blame America for occupying Iraq and blame America for withdrawing from Iraq. I was laughing pretty hard reading this one. (As always, click on the title to read the story.) Warning: graphic images which include Pvt. Lindsey England are displayed.

Tortured screams ring out as Iraqis take over Abu Ghraib

The notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad is at the centre of fresh abuse allegations just a week after it was handed over to Iraqi authorities, with claims that inmates are being tortured by their new captors.

Conditions in the rest of the jail were grim, with an overwhelming stench of excrement, prisoners crammed into cells for all but 20 minutes a day, food rations cut to just rice and water and no air conditioning.

Some of the small number of prisoners who remained in the jail after the Americans left said they had pleaded to go with their departing captors, rather than be left in the hands of Iraqi guards.

"The Americans were better than the Iraqis. They treated us better," said Khalid Alaani, who was held on suspicion of involvement in Sunni terrorism.

"I heard shouting, like someone had a hot iron on their body, screams. The officer said they were just screaming by themselves. I was hearing the screams throughout the visit."

The witness said that even in the thieves' section prisoners were being treated badly. "Someone was shouting 'Please help us, we want the human rights officers, we want the Americans to come back'," he said.

Sorry, Charlie, we're getting out because as our invasion was "immoral" and a "ruse to get oil." Perhaps the prisoners should call 1-800-DEMOCRAT to re-explain reality to them.

I'm humming that 1970's tune Baby Come Back:

Baby come backAny kind of fool could seeI was wrongAnd I just can't live without you